In this newsletter:

Water Bill Introduced
Wave Hill Station Walk Off on National Heritage List
Tax Deductibility for Jewish Community's security costs

Water Act 2007

This week I introduced the Bill for the Water Act 2007 into the House of Representatives. It represents the most far reaching reform of water management in our nation's history and together with the Prime Minister's National Plan for Water Security it will ensure that in the years ahead the rivers and groundwater systems of Australia are put on an environmentally sustainable footing.

It will ensure that irrigated agriculture, upon which so much of our agricultural output depends, is able to make every drop count through investments in better water infrastructure.

The text of my second reading speech introducing the Bill is here and you can see a video of the speech on my website here  Copies of the Bill and the Explanatory Memorandum can be downloaded from the Parliament website here. .

Wave Hill Station Walk Off

This week I placed the route of the Wave Hill Station Walk Off on the National Heritage List. In August 1966 the Gurindji people walked off Wave Hill in protest not simply against poor pay and conditions but against the failure of the laws of the time fairly to recognise and respect their culture and the ownership of the land. It was in many ways the beginning of the Aboriginal Land Rights movement. See the media release here and my speech here.

Security for the Jewish Community - Tax Deductibility

There is no more troubling reminder of the pressures the Jewish community live under than the sight of security guards around Jewish communal institutions such as schools and synagogues. There is currently Commonwealth Government assistance tor security costs for schools, and of course religious institutions, such as synagogues, are typically deductible gift recipients for tax purposes.

However, I have argued strongly that we need a more comprehensive approach and have been working closely with members of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry and other Jewish community organisations on this issue since I was elected to Parliament. I am delighted that the  Prime Minister has decided that a new communal security body, the Council for Jewish Community Security, which will be established by the ECAJ will be listed as a deductible gift recipient under the Income Tax Assessment Act. This will mean that the costs of communal security, regardless of the venue, will receive Commonwealth Government support via the tax system.

It is very regrettable that such security measures are necessary, but this measure will mean that the cost of providing that security will now receive substantial Commonwealth support through the tax system.

Yours Sincerely

Malcolm Turnbull